Over the past few years, hundreds of companies have moved towards inclusive modeling and influencers have even molded their entire brands around it.  But more recently tensions have been brewing due to the fact that some body-positive influencers do not have the “correct” body to lead the movement.  This contradiction is enthralling because it essentially goes against everything this acceptance revolution stands for.  The reason for the newfound toxicity is a projection of insecurity.  Young minds are easily swayed by what they see on social media and the image of the “beauty standard”.  Conversely, some people partially seem to be moving towards something different, body neutrality, which stands for finding peace and not always putting body image at the forefront. 

What is this beauty standard that is being pushed and most importantly ACCEPTED by young female minds?  Today, the ultimate socially constructed goal is to chase the Instagram-curated standard of a small waist, light curves, tall but not too tall, clear skin, long hair, and an essence that exudes femininity.  Beauty is in the “eye of the beholder”- and this phrase is multi-faceted.  From the point of view of the user, Instagram allows for objectivity (National Geographic).  Social media guides people into a hole and they forget that “the definition of beauty [is continuing] to expand, making room for women of color, obese women, women with vitiligo, bald women, women with gray hair and wrinkles” (National Geographic).  

If the requirements for leading the body positivity movement truly abide by its philosophy, then size would not be an issue when it comes to finding a confident young girl who wants to make the world a better place.  Sienna Mae Gomez is a 16-year-old Tik Tok sensation who gained over 15.1 million followers for showing off her body in bikinis with no shame.  At first, this was immensely well-received.  She encouraged viewers to eat what they wanted, wear what they wanted, and not care what others thought.  Gomez wanted to send the message that “[you] only have one body and there’s no point in [comparison]” (Nylon).  

But like anyone with a following, “cancellation” is almost always imminent.  On April 4th, Gomez posted a before and after video displaying bloating after eating.  Mixed reviews filled a sea of 42.5k comments and users ridiculed that she looked no different.  One read “I know you[‘re] stressing body positivity but you don’t have the right body.  It makes us feel worse” (@/juwilson2).  In response to this Sienna articulated, “It’s so upsetting to me because I’ve always kind of put the message out there that any body type is beautiful and you guys used to preach that with me but lately I’ve seen a ton of comments that have been bashing me for ‘losing weight’ and saying that they don’t relate to my content anymore, which is not in my control.  I have been preaching the same message [that] every body is beautiful since the beginning and there is no ‘right body’.  That whole ‘right body’ mentality defeats the whole purpose of this confident stance I’m trying to take.”

The original purpose of the body positivity movement was to move away from societal standards and have this force of representation.  The message behind it hints that people should never feel unhappy with the way they look – even if there is a longing to lose weight like Sienna Gomez did.  The body neutrality movement sprung up to contradict this.  Healthline says the ideology is about “] the body as an object by challenging the myth that the way [people] look drives [their] worth”.  It carries an important and formative message to young people that how they look does not have to be the most prominent thing in their life.  Instead of having to choose between intensely loving or hating the body, neutrality can offer peace and even more acceptance than the body positivity movement because it does not promote comparison.

According to body positivity, Sienna Gomez had to look a certain way to be considered credible because of other people comparing themselves to her.  It only sounds like back peddling to a place of negativity.  Loving oneself is important, but people have to realize that there is more to life than appearance.